Painting en Plein Air

Painting en Plein Air is an enriching way to learn more about painting, especially color and light. People who are new to painting on location often struggle with the aspect of changing light and how to capture the scene quickly.  They also seem less confident with drawing skills.  My next workshop at Linden Plantation will focus on drawing value studies with paint.  We will create value studies outdoors en plein air (weather permitting) and indoors from photographs.   With a few color notes, these value studies can then be developed into paintings in the studio. This process will give participants an opportunity to make comparisons between working onsite and working from photographs.

Peggy Burns has attended 3 workshops in the Linden series
“I attended Donna McGee’s workshop at Linden Plantation in MS and the venue was so beautiful and inspiring.  I had never done plein air painting before, but will from now on.  Donna opened my eyes to a new way of seeing and experiencing nature. The light and colors viewed while painting onsite are so rich and vibrant, while a photo taken at the time looks so washed out.  Donna provides instruction to meet each person at their own individual artist level. It was a great weekend, I learned a lot and hope to do it again in the future” Peggy Burns on Painting en Plein Air at Linden Plantation-- Peggy Burns, Spring 2018

Peggy's Paintings 

 

Tree Shadows Linden

Sunflower Field Linden

John Henry Slough

Landscape Painting Linden Plantation

 

        Easter at Linden, Oil,  14 X 11 Inches                Sunflower Field, Acrylic, 11 X 14 Inches                         John Henry Slough, Oil, 11 X 14 Inches

These three paintings (above) are from the landscape workshop series at Linden Plantation, spring, summer, and fall. I enjoy going back to a location to paint at different times in different lighting conditions.  I believe these three painting capture something of the freshness of spring, the heat and humidity of summer, and cool, golden of fall in the South. 

Next Workshop:

Landscape Painting with Donna McGee

Linden Plantation, Glen Allan, MS

3/1/2019 – 3/3/2019

Email: dfmcgee09@gmail.com

www.donnafmcgeefineart.com

www.espoutdoors.com/linden-plantation

en Plein Air painting workshop

Join us October 18 - 21, 2018 at Linden Plantation, Mississippi for an en plein workshop, presented by Donna McGee.

Absorbing a Place

Sunflower Inspiration, Fluid Acrylic, 14 X 10.5 Inches

My studio work is inspired by my work en plein air and time spent outdoors. On the third day of the Sunflower Retreat, participants asked me to show them how I work in the studio.  I completed the above painting in 30 minutes in the Sunflower Field.  With bodies accustomed to air conditioning, July outdoors in the Mississippi delta is not for the faint at heart .  I had painted there en plein air for 3 days within a 2 week period.  One thing I have learned is that if you get into the place, the place will get into you. I have had some wonderful experiences while painting en plein air that have made me a richer person.  I think this is why so many people find reasons to be outdoors whether it is to hunt, hike, play, or paint.  I have hiking buddy that always encouraged me to "be in the moment". There is nothing that will help you "be in the moment" more than painting outdoors.

Sunflower Retreat

 Painting a field of Sunflowers without painting every flower.

Since I began painting outdoors I find painting from photos very limiting.  However, one of the hardest things for beginning painters en plein air seems to be not painting every detail.  Many people are accustomed to accepting the frozen camera view of reality, but in reality your eye sees the world very differently.  You see the field of flowers as moving shapes and colors while only seeing the details of the closest flowers. Sunflowers follow the sun until they are heavy with seed and can no longer turn their heads with the sun.   I painted with the sun over my left shoulder as I viewed the field. Still I found that the painting was more about suggestion of distance and color filled space than about contrast of value. Changes in color notes were subtle and that is what I concentrated on. 

  

Sunflower Field, Fluid Acrylic, 11 X 14 inches